The Space Race

(1957—1975)

Beginning with the Launch of Sputnik 1 by the Soviet Union, the Space Race was a contest between the Soviet Union and the United States. It involved launching the first satellite into orbit, the first human in space and also the first human on the moon.

Stories

First Human in Space

On the 12th of April in 1961, Yuri Gagarin, a Russian Cosmonaut, climbed aboard the Soviet Union's Vostok spacecraft and became the first human to enter space. He was applauded as a hero and received many medals from various countries for his historic space flight. He is quoted by the BBC News while in orbit:

First Human on the Moon

On the 21st of July in 1969, Astronaut Neil Armstrong of the United States became the first man to set foot on the moon. After first being challenged by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to land a man on the moon and bring him safely back, the United States space program - NASA - had made great strides in order to achieve President Kennedy's challenge. They reached a major part of their goal on the day that Neil Armstrong set his foot on the moon.